The Zimbabwean population is predominantly rural – at least 60 per cent. Generally, people tend to shun being in rural areas as they have suffered more than urban areas in the face of Zimbabwe’s economic challenges. What most might not realize is that there are loads of entrepreneurial opportunities in the countryside. I do understand that most rural areas are characterised by limited or substandard infrastructure. All the same, there are business prospects there if you look closely. If you are not a fan of settling there you can explore the possibility of sourcing goods from there for resale in cities. That is a business avenue worth exploring.
Livestock And Associated Products Or By-Products
There is lots of livestock in the countryside – both small and big livestock. You can solely focus on buying mature livestock for meat e.g. poultry, beef, pork and so on. You can also focus on breeding whereby you buy breeding stock for resell in cities. You can even buy livestock from there for fattening, particularly for cattle pen fattening. It is commonplace for people to get cheap cattle from rural areas especially during dry spells. This makes the profit margins to be realized from fattening very wide.
This is all relevant because most people in cities are now big on farming activities. You could focus on associated products or by-products of livestock production in rural areas. For example, you can buy cow dung for resale in cities – it is highly sought-after manure for horticulture in cities. These examples are just to paint the picture for you otherwise there is so much to explore concerning livestock.
Fresh Or Dried Farm Produce
Just like livestock, this is yet another loaded domain in rural areas. So many people source grains from rural areas that they resell in cities. The grain is usually cheaply accessible in rural areas so that is where the catch is. The grain is a hit product owing to its central importance to both human and animal consumption. I have noticed that the further you go out of the cities the cheaper farm produce gets. So if you have transport or access to it you can solely focus on sourcing grain from rural areas for resell in the cities. You can choose to deal with dried farm produce or fresh farm produce as circumstances or seasons dictate.
Indigenous Fruits
There are lots of indigenous fruits that are abundantly found in rural areas. Most of them are delicacies that are sought after in cities. The great thing about these fruits is that you can get them at no cost (save for maybe transport). Once you bring them to the cities you can sell as retail or you can supply resellers e.g. street vendors. This does depend on location and seasons also but chances are high that you come from a rural area or are close to one that has indigenous fruits.
Art And Craftwork
This is yet again location-specific but there are some great products you can find in rural areas. This domain includes things like woodwork, sculpting, reed crafts and so on. Essentially art and craftwork are made from a variety of materials some of the common ones being wood, stone, and reeds, amongst many others. These items are vital to a broad market in the cities so you can cheaply get them from the rural areas and resell them in cities.
Herbal Or Natural Medicines
This is somewhat controversial and must be handled with caution. There is a wealth of knowledge on herbal medicines amongst folks in the rural areas. Provided that you are dealing with herbal medicines that do not involve mystic processes it can be a good venture. I have seen some people who source herbal (natural medicines in essence) from rural areas and resell them in cities. Once again I strongly advise on exercising thorough due diligence if you are to go down this road. You would not want to have health disasters or fatalities on your hands.
Indigenous Alcohol Formulations
Those of you familiar with past time activities in rural areas will know that there are some highly acclaimed alcohol formulations that side. Due to the low-cost requirements for brewing such alcohol or beer, it is quite cheap to source. I think there are hidden prospects if one takes the time to package that alcohol professionally and resell it in cities. I am not sure if people are doing this but it could be a huge hit. Picture a scenario where the popular ‘7 days’ beer, as an example, is packaged smartly I think people would love it in cities. Especially considering that you could competitively price it to be cheaper than the popular brands in town; money is bound to be made.
These are some of the products that you can buy in rural areas and resell in cities. Sourcing goods from rural areas have the advantage of getting things cheap. Transportation might be one of the biggest expenses especially if the rural areas in question are quite distant.
